Unknown coin for my Birthday, What is it?

[expat]

Received a coin today for my Birthday which was Tuesday. My friend was travelling around Europe and acquired a coin. He posted it to me but I have no clue at to what I am looking at. I have measured and weighed it, 4.11 g, 32.8mm. It appears to be silver and a very generous flan. Please help or give me some research references. Many thanks.

Edited April 19 by expat

[JAZ Numismatics]

Sassanian drachm. You can differentiate the rulers by the headdress they wear, but your obverse is obliterated. Some expert in Sassanian may be able to narrow it down.

[expat]

I looked at a selection of Sasanian coins on Numista. This appears to be closest.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces409337.html

Edited April 19 by expat

[ominus1]

..purdy dang nice presi...:)and HB 2 ya belated as it is...

[JeandAcre]

The Parsi legends are completely beyond me, unlike other people here, as @JAZ Numismatics mentioned.  (You know you are!  But @Parthicus immediately comes to mind.)

But I do have Gobl, Sasanian Numismatics, a sometimes outdated but still useful reference.  He has a whole separate set of tables for the innumerable styles of crown, arranged by reign.  From that, a very slightly nearer resemblance than what @expat found might be Kavad II.

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=kavad+ii&category=1-2&lot=&date_from=&date_to=&thesaurus=1&images=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1&currency=usd&order=0 

If this happens to be correct, it's one of the scarcest reigns in the whole series.  Kavad II ruled only briefly in 628 CE (near the end of the whole empire), before succumbing to, Yikes, plague.  ...Having executed his father and brothers, following his own intra-dynastic coup.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kavad_II 

 

Edited April 19 by JeandAcre

[expat]

1 minute ago, JeandAcre said:

The Parsi legends are completely beyond me, unlike other people here, as @JAZ Numismatics mentioned.  (You know you are!  But @Parthicus immediately comes to mind.)

But I do have Gobl, Sasanian Numismatics, a sometimes outdated but still useful reference.  He has a whole separate set of tables for the innumerable styles of crown, arranged by reign.  From that, a very slightly nearer resemblance than what @expat found might be Kavad II.

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=kavad+ii&category=1-2&lot=&date_from=&date_to=&thesaurus=1&images=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1&currency=usd&order=0 

If this happens to be correct, it's one of the scarcest reigns in the whole series.  Kavad II ruled only briefly in 628 CE (near the end of the whole empire, before succumbing to, Yikes, plague.  ...Having executed his father and brothers, following his own intra=dynastic coup.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kavad_II 

 

Interesting. Any help is greatly appreciated as coins of this type are completely unknown to me.

[John Conduitt]

It looks like Hormazd IV, Veh-Ardashir. Year 13 though, which might not be possible. Might explain the obliterated die 🤣

Edited April 20 by John Conduitt

[Furryfrog02]

Happy (late) birthday @expat!
The best I can do is say that it is a Sasianian drachm. Without the inscription on the obverse, I am not much good. 
Either way, congratulations on another rotation around Sol. I am soon due for my 40th rotation. 

[expat]

Interestingly, on Todays Savoca Blue Auction, there were a number of Hormazd IV and Kusro II drachms with shattered or broken obverse die strikes.

[Parthicus]

The reverse inscriptions are clear, it's mintmark VH (or WH) which is accepted as Veh-Ardashir, and the date is definitely Year 13.  Obverse is pretty borked, so no help from either crown or inscription, but other details (having a single circle around both obverse and reverse, crescents with stars at the 3,6, and 9 o'clock positions on obverse but no ribbon-ends projecting outside the line at 12 o'clock) confirm it as Hormazd IV (579-590).  And yes, he did have coins dated Year 13, so that checks out.  Oh, and (belated) Happy Birthday @expat !  Sorry I am late to this thread, I have a nasty cold right now and am mostly just resting in bed.  (Nothing too serious, looks like, just unpleasant while it's happening.)

[expat]

1 hour ago, Parthicus said:

The reverse inscriptions are clear, it's mintmark VH (or WH) which is accepted as Veh-Ardashir, and the date is definitely Year 13.  Obverse is pretty borked, so no help from either crown or inscription, but other details (having a single circle around both obverse and reverse, crescents with stars at the 3,6, and 9 o'clock positions on obverse but no ribbon-ends projecting outside the line at 12 o'clock) confirm it as Hormazd IV (579-590).  And yes, he did have coins dated Year 13, so that checks out.  Oh, and (belated) Happy Birthday @expat !  Sorry I am late to this thread, I have a nasty cold right now and am mostly just resting in bed.  (Nothing too serious, looks like, just unpleasant while it's happening.)

Thanks for your knowledgeable answer and for the Birthday wishes. Much appreciated.